Short posts

The Mercury News gave us a great editorial on our effort to reform the enviromental review process at Santa Clara County:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/11440064.htm

And another good article on local endangered species, featuring the checkerspot butterfly we've been working so hard to save on Coyote Ridge:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/11460237.htm

I actually didn't realize the checkerspot had been found throughout the Bay Area, while the current distribution in serpentine habitat just represents the "last stand" of native plant life that the butterfly can use.

The Metro has a fascinating cover story tying local farm production to food banks:


http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/04.20.05/hunger-0516.html

The Dispatch reviews natural ecology recovery from the Croy fire two years ago in the south County:

http://www.gilroydispatch.com/news/contentview.asp?c=155470

Fire can be a good thing in the right places. Henry Coe State Park in particular is slowly working on fire management plan that will hopefully result in a more natural fire ecology.

And The Pinnacle has an interesting article on the Calpine power plant set to start producing in Coyote Valley:

http://www.pinnaclenews.com/sv-edition/story.php?id=1


Not the best spot from an open-space perspective, but not something that's likely to change.

And finally, the biggest news item:

Today is Earth Day!! Please enjoy your planet today and this weekend - we'll get back to protecting our planet early on Monday.

-Brian